EP0274365A1

EP0274365A1 - Safety device for cooking hobs to prevent vessels from overturning when cooking

Info

Publication number: EP0274365A1
Application number: EP87830453A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Roberto Bertazzoni
Original assignee: Smeg SpA
Current assignee: Smeg SpA
Priority date: 1986-12-24
Filing date: 1987-12-21
Publication date: 1988-07-13
Anticipated expiration: 2007-12-21
Also published as: DE3768240D1; ES2021095B3; EP0274365B1; IT8624243V0; IT209560Z2

Abstract

A device to prevent vessels placed on a cooking hob (1) from overturning, especially when they are positioned on the front side, allows at a position (B) opposite to the safety position (A), the hob cover (10) to be closed without any interference with the rearside burners. Such a device comprises a substantially U-shaped metal bar (2), hinged at each end (3, 3ʹ) at a nearly middle zone of the hob corresponding side (4, 4ʹ). The central portion (6) of the bar (2) is parallel to the front edge of hob (1) and the side arms thereof each show an inclined portion (8, 8ʹ) for the connection with the associate hinging end (3, 3ʹ) through a length (5, 5ʹ) perpendicular thereto and parallel to the respective side (4, 4ʹ).

Description

The present invention relates to a safety device, to be applied to cooking hobs provided with gas-burners or electric hot-plates, and being either of the built-in type to be recessed in a piece of furniture or formed of a household cooker top, which is capable of preventing vessels placed on the hob itself from overturning, in particular when cooking foods.
It is known that the vessels used for cooking, and especially the pots having a considerable height in comparison with their diameter, are susceptible of overturning when incidentally struck and of falling from the cooking hob, thus pouring the liquid therein, often boiling. This leads to a dangerous situation for people standing near, especially when children are present who, besides causing this type of accidents more frequently, due to their restlessness and less care taken, may be burnt more seriously by the poured liquid, owing to their height which approximately corresponds to the hob level.
It is true that sometimes attempts have been made to anchor vessels onto the support top surface, such as by means of snap fastening devices, which however have proved to be complex and/or cumbersome, with the additional drawback of easily heating while cooking, so as to be of difficult handling when these devices have to be released for leaving free the associate vessel as soon as the cooking is over.
Other anti-tilting devices are known, for the above-mentioned purpose, being formed of a protective metal section which, at a front position, restrains onto the hob the vessels placed over the burners. However these known devices show various disadvantages, such as the fact that at the rest, backward position they are situated over the rear burners or anyway due to their overall dimensions are of hindrance to the complete lowering of the cover onto the cooking top. In addition sometimes these devices comprise a plurality of members and thereby constructional complications are required to keep, during operation, a higher position with respect to the cooking top surface that is more efficient against the tilting of the adjacent vessels.
An object of the present invention is therefore that of providing an anti-tilting device for pots and the like, which is easily applicable onto cooking surfaces of any type, of simple construction in a single piece and of good functional capacity and handiness, without the need of a releasing operation for leaving free vessels, while being at the same time perfectly reliable.
According to a particular aspect of the present invention, the device is laterally hinged to the innerly facing sides of the cooker top or hob and can assume two opposed positions, one of which, towards the front edge, prevents from overturning those vessels which are placed on the hob at the fore area and in part also at the sides, whereas the opposite position, towards the rear edge, allows the cover to be closed down without any hindrance and interference with the rear burners.
These and further advantages and characteristics of the device according to the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the annexed drawing, the single figure of which shows a perspective view of a hob provided with a device of the invention.
With reference to the figure, a device 2 according to the invention is mounted to a cooking hob 1 which may be indifferently either of the built-in type to be recessed in a piece of forniture thereunder, or such as to form the top plane of a self-contained cooker, being here represented with gas-burners, whereas it could also comprise at least one electric hot plate. The device is formed as a shaped bar, hinged at its ends 3, 3ʹ to the side edges 4, 4ʹ of the hob at a nearly middle zone along the direction of depth of the hob itself. Preferably the bar 2 has a round cross-section, so that its ends 3, 3ʹ can rotate freely in associate holes formed in the side surfaces 4, 4ʹ without the necessity of separate hinges.
At position A the bar 2 has been shown by continuous lines as in use, i.e. turned to the front side of the hob, whereas at position B it is turned rearwards, in a rest situation. The bar 2 substantially comprises an elongated portion 6, parallel to the front edge or width side of the hob, being joined at each side to the associate hinging end 3, 3ʹ through a shaped portion, respectively 8, 8ʹ.
The protection against possible tilting or overturning of vessels on the front burners of the cooking hob 1 is mainly provided by the elongated bar 6 which, thanks to a particularly angled shape of the side connecting portions 8, 8ʹ, results to be raised with respect to the hob, thus forming an actual hindrance to a forward tilting of the vessels on the front burners. At the same time also the side arms 8, 8ʹ give a protection, even if partial, against a possible tilting in a side direction.
Furthermore the particular configuration of the arms 8 is useful to a lateral grasping of the device to cause it to rotate from position A to B and vice versa.
The side arms 8 are upwardly bent at A, starting from parts 5, 5ʹ which are slightly recessed to the inside with respect to the hinge end 3, 3ʹ and parallel to the sides 4, 4ʹ of hob 1. Such a configuration, when the device 2 is rotated backward by 180° to the position B, causes the elongated bar 6 to completely rest on the rear side of the hob, while the side arms 8, 8ʹ remain partially raised therefrom. A designer will then be able to dimension the various parts so that the height by which arms 8 are raised at the position B will be within the tolerance range allowed between hob and cover 10 without hindering the complete lowering of the latter.
It is clear that a safety device as described and illustrated can be easily applied to whichever cooking hob having upraised lateral edges of sufficient height, and affords an extremely good handiness and ease of utilization without showing the known drawbacks due to an excessive heating, when it is also considered that the vessels thereby protected from overturning can be removed from the burners, upon cooking, without the necessity of touching by hands the device itself. In fact the same does not prevent pots and the like from lifting from the rest surface, but only from tilting, especially towards the front side.

Claims

1. A device to prevent from overturning vessels placed on a cooking hob, characterized by the fact that said device (2) comprises a metal bar (6), substantially parallel to the front edge of hob (1) and connected at each side to an end portion (3, 3ʹ) to be hinged at a lateral zone (4, 4ʹ) of said hob (1) through a shaped arm (8, 8ʹ) which is angled to both said bar (6) and a part (5, 5ʹ) being co-planar with said end portion (3, 3ʹ), perpendicular thereto and parallel to the respective side (4, 4ʹ) of the hob (1).

2. A device according to claim 1, characterized by the fact of being adapted to take two opposite positions, upon a rotation of about 180°, at the first of which (A), being the position in use, said bar (6) is raised with respect to the cooking hob (1) and at the second of which (B), being the position at rest, it is resting on said hob (1) from which said side arms (8, 8ʹ) are partially raised, at such a height to allow the complete lowering of cover (10) onto the hob.